The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-12
HOW TO UTILIZE EELS.
Strange Story of a Venezuelan GEN,
tleman,
F,,ou The pbiiadelDbia Ne,rs.

stopping at the Girard House, tells a won
derful story. alleging that he has succeeded in
utilizing electricity generated by electric
cells. and that his residence is lighted by
electricity from that strange fish. Senior
! Mezzito is well-educated man, was gradu-
ated from Heidelburg University and speaks
several languages, including English, quite
! fluently. T.
YES" said he, II have my residence
lighted throughout by electricity generated
| by large batteries of electric cells. There
| is sufficient electricity wasted in the streams
of the northern portionof South America to
light city as big as Philadelphia could it
be properly utilized. The town of Achaguas
lies on the bank of a small river OF that
name which empties into the Oninoco 100
miles to the sOutheastg 1t is i'm the State of
Apure, about 100 Tpilesh from the eastern
! boundary of the United States of Colon
bia. The city is reached by boat up the
Orinoco to San Fernando and by rail from
that place. Achaguas is an old town and
has been the home of my family for many
generations. give you this in detail, be-
cause | have met scientists since | came to
this country who evidently disbelieve that
| have electric lights running by electric
cells
Il got my first idea of utilizing the gym
notus electrius while studying electricity in
| streams in which the cells abounded, and
| knowing personally of men and animals
that has been Frustrated and were killed by
cells in water, was especially interested in
| Faradays account of the torpedo and other
fishes. | was particularly impressed by the
| great scientists statement that a full grown
electric eel contained electricity equal to
fifteen Leyden jars of $500 square inches
| Upon returning to my home at once began
| experimenting, and was both surprised and
delighted with my success. | found that by
holding a small eel, the head in one hand
and the tail in the other, the shock was
much stronger than in any other wav, and
soon discovered that the positive and mega
tive cells are divided, the negative near the
pectorals and the positive next the tail. /
also satisfied myself very quickly that the
electricity from the eel was the sameas com
mon electricity. 1t rendered the needle
magnetic, decomposed chemical compounds
and by it heat was evolved and spark was
obtained. On these points, however, the
| scientists readily agree with me. Twas sat
| isfied that the power was there if it could be
utilized, and after two years of further ex-
perimenting succeeded in getting battery
| by which small light was run nearly an
hour Then it was merely question of
| time and study. | have had the lights run
ming, eight of them eight-candle each, for
three months. My success has brought me
to this country, and | propose to explain
my invention and discovery to the members
of the Franklin Institute before return to
| Venezuela.
II first tried the placing of a number of
the cells in one large rubber tank well insu-
lated, but | afterward discarded it and tried
the forming of a strong battery by the CON
nection of fifty cells with two or more ees
in each. The result was more than satiSfac-
tory. Here are drawings of the batteries
showing how the glass jars are connected"
He then exhibited drawing.
"You will see that no ground wire is
used. Each cell is so connected as to COM
plete circuit through the wires running
from either end of the row to the lamps,
which are all in one circuit. The only secret
is the manner in which the electricity is con-
Quoted from the cells. That l belive to be
an entirely original discovery. and shall
not divulge it until it is protected by patents
both in Europe and America. The eel I
learned makes heavy, involuntary dis
charges of electricity when its circulation is
increased or when NATURALLY excited. This
| learned by seeing the Indians, under my
orders, driving cells into our nets by the aid
of horses and mules With half a dozen
horses rushing through the water the cells
throw off such quantities of electricity that
the animals are FRUSTRATED and sometimes
| killed. This without actually coming in
contrct with the fish. In an hour the cells
will have discharged their stores of electric
fiuid and, coming to the surface, lie quite
still They are entirely helpless Taken in
by the nets the eels are placed in receiving
tanks, and in half an hour their electric
cells are as strong and active as ever. The
| Indians and ignorant people in the vicinity
of Achaguas regard me as a wizard, and my
life has been threatened because a minor
chief of a small tribe living few miles west
| of AchaguaS was killed by an electric shock
while taking eels for me.
| "But | was telling Won of the hatteriaS I
found 1t necessary to keep the eels excited in
order to compel them to throw off their
store of electricity steadily. l tried several
ways of keeping a wheel revolving in each
cell, but afterward learned that the feeding
of strychnine to them, or rather the plac-
ing of strychnine in the liquid in which they
are kept accelerated circulation by produc
ing tetanic contraction of the muscles and
did all that was required.
''How about when the store of electricity
is exhausted, you ask
''Well, that is easily overcome do not
allow a battery to work more than half an
hour at a time By a very simple clock
work contrivance l have so fixed things as
to instantly and at regular intervals throw
one battery off and another on. | keep
three batteries of thirty cells each all the
time ready Relieved for an hour the eels
are as active as ever During the half hour
of service the stryothnia has become alb
|
natural power.
Thirty cells of two cells each are equal to
900 volts, and strong enough to kill three
men should the current pass through them.
Each eel is a perfect battery within itself.
These are two positive and two negative
calls one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter in
each eel, and each cell has many minute
cells within it, | keep large tank full of
the eels on hand all the time, and am com
PEELED to replenish the batteries every day
or two. l have attempted TO propagate
the cells, but thus far have not been sue
ceSsful
''No; do not see that my discovery and
invention will ever benefit the world very
much because these cells are not found much
outside of Northern South America, but it
is interesting from a scientific standpoint,
and | consider my time labor and money
well spent"
Senior Mezzito will remain in Philade-
phia for a few days inspecting wooden mill
machinery, and will then go to Boston.
Butler and the Match Boys
From the Ne,r York EUeninq Sun.